Indefatigable success has lost none of its lustre for Webber

There are many who would argue the Friday of the 2020 Cheltenham Festival should never have taken place. But for Paul Webber, the very last race before the world welcomed a new normal will always carry special memories thanks to the appropriately-named Indefatigable.

Set against the backdrop of the already escalating Covid-19 pandemic, with the nation at large awaiting the latest update from Downing Street or frantically scouring the supermarkets for toilet roll, Webber was saddling his stable star in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle.

“How lucky were we to win the last race of the Festival that some people think should never have happened,” said Webber.

“Nothing has been exciting since or before and as I sit here now, having seen news of the Covid inquiry, it’s remarkable the day even happened at all.

“Poor Philip (Rocher) the owner couldn’t attend as his wife was ill at the time and he was very frightened of catching Covid. It was a great shame they weren’t there.”

Festival success had long eluded the Cropredy Lawn custodian, who saw Time For Rupert finish second to Big Buck’s in a World Hurdle before going on to take fourth in a Gold Cup and Pressgang rattle the crossbar in the Champion Bumper among the many hard luck stories in the Cotswolds.

A similar tale of woe looked likely for Indefatigable as Rex Dingle struggled to encourage the mare into action in the early salvos.

However, when all seemed lost, the path to victory began to appear and after picking off rivals up the home straight, the only remaining question was whether the testing Cheltenham hill would prove steep enough to enable the most thrilling of victories.

Webber explained: “All she wanted to do when they lined up for the standing start was eat the horses either side of her, she wasn’t concentrating on her job at all. She was last away and was just about last with a circuit to run, but she got flying late on and we all saw what happened then.

“For most of the race it looked unlikely and from the turn in we just wondered if the run-in was going to be long enough.

“I had come very close in the past, we were beaten a head with Pressgang in the Champion Bumper and that day I made the schoolboy error of thinking he had won, so I kept my eye very closely on the screen this time.

“I was hopeful, but I said to anyone around I’m not convinced. I didn’t want to make an idiot of myself again.”

Indefatigable returned to Cheltenham to contest the Mares’ Hurdle in the following two seasons, finishing fourth in the behind-closed-doors 2021 edition and taking a crashing fall a year later that left her trainer contemplating his own future.

Webber, who also enjoyed Royal Ascot success on the level, persisted for a further two years before finally calling time on his training career, but has no regrets as he continues to scratch the racing itch by following the progress of Indefatigable’s offspring and assisting trainer Billy Aprahamian.

“A couple of things happened in our last few years training which made me think, and one was her fall at Cheltenham and then House Island died in the field when turned out during the summer,” continued Webber.

“I’d never seen Indefatigable travel as easily as she did that day at Cheltenham when she came down. She never travelled and normally all she did was stay.

“She brought Rachael Blackmore down and the most remarkable thing was she got up, as many wouldn’t, and thankfully we still had her afterwards.

“Her first foal by Walk In The Park is being broken by Charlie Poste. She’s also got a very nice filly by Sea Moon who has just become a yearling and she could possibly go to Golden Horn next.”